San Jose drummer Joe DeRose got an enticing taste of East Coast life in the mid-1990s, when he went off to Boston's Berklee College of Music, graduating in four years despite a steady gig with blues belter Toni Lynn Washington.



After studies with an array of musicians, including meticulous metronome sessions with veteran funk and jazz drummer Kenwood Dennard, Joe DeRose definitely felt the pull of the New York scene.



Ultimately, however, Joe DeRose decided to return to San Jose, where he divides his time as a drum teacher and leader of the fusion band Amici ("friends" in Italian).